A Luis Romo “effort goal” and a well-executed game plan allowed Cruz Azul to head home with a 1-0 lead in the Liga MX Finals. Santos Laguna must now win at Estadio Azteca in Sunday’s Grand Finale to be crowned Guardianes 2021 champion or watch the Cementeros end a 23½-year title drought.
In minute 71, Team Mexico midfielder Romo collected a loose ball in the top left corner of the box surrounded by four Guerreros, spun, turned toward net, nutmegged Félix Torres, blocked a Dória clearance attempt, then gathered in a muffed shot before wheeling around and blasting a shot off the rib cage of Santos goalie Carlos Acevedo. A singular effort by the emerging star.
Despite enjoying the better of play (65% possession and 83% pass completion rate), Santos suddenly found itself trailing 1-0 with 20 minutes remaining. The Guerreros pressed forward in search of the equalizer, but came up empty as the Big Blue Wall closed out the game.
Conservative alignment pays off for Cruz Azul
Juan Reynoso opened with a 4-5-1 line-up, closing off Santos’ favored attacking lanes and limiting open looks at goal. Defensive-minded midfielders Yoshimar Yotún and Ignacio Rivero manned the wings and though neither had memorable games, they hounded and pestered anybody wearing green-and-white jerseys.
The linchpin of the strategy was the midfield trio of Romo, Rafa Baca and “Pol” Fernández. Behind them, the central defense pairing of Pablo Aguilar and Julio César Domínguez was impeccable. Their numbers: 9 1-on-1 challenges won; 9 clearances; 7 steals; 8 recovered balls; 3 blocked shots.
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The tactical wisdom was evident in the game stats. Though the Guerreros got off 16 shots, only one was on target even if it was a good one (a 10th-minute long-range shot by “El Mudo” Aguirre forced an acrobatic save by Jesús Corona).
The Cementeros coach opted to absorb pressure and harass Santos’ playmakers outside the box (Diego Valdés was rarely heard from), while looking to find space on the counterattack. In fact, “La Máquina” did contrive a few break-outs early on, two of which were foiled thanks to splendid defense by Matheus Dória.
Early in the second half, “Los Laguneros” appeared to have taken the lead off a corner kick, but Aguirre was properly called offside to nullify Alan Cervantes’ bid for a goal.
A few minutes later, Santos held possession in the Cruz Azul defensive third for a full 70 seconds, swinging the ball from side-to-side in hopes of finding a crease in the Cementeros defense. None was to be found.
In minute 65, Romo waltzed straight down the central channel about 20 yards before unleashing a rocket from 25 meters that stung Acevedo’s hands, but the Guerreros keeper parried it out of harm’s way. That was just a taste of what was to come.
A minute after sending on his first two subs of the game, Reynoso watched Romo rumble and stumble through the left side of the box before pouncing upon a loose ball just inside the penalty spot and rifling home from 10 yards out. Just like that, Cruz Azul was up 1-0.
The Big Blue Wall saw out the game from there and the Cementeros are one step closer to winning their ninth title and hoisting their first Liga MX trophy since December 1997.
Notes: Cruz Azul winger Roberto Alvarado missed the trip to Torreón after his wife, Dayana Gómez, suffered a miscarriage. … Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodríguez, top scorer for Cruz Azul this season, was booed regularly by the home fans. “Cabecita” was a member of the Guerreros’ Clausura 2018 championship team before joining Cruz Azul in July 2019. Rodríguez nearly came up with the goal of the year in minute 35, chest-trapping a floater and executing a bicycle kick from the top of the box that would have found the back of the net if not for a lunging save by Acevedo. … Dória and Jesús Isijara are the lone remaining members of Santos’ 2018 championship team still wearing the green-and-white hooped jersey. … Cruz Azul was 9-1-1 at home this season, including playoffs, with a +11 goal differential (21 goals for, 10 goals against).